Safety razor having adjustable blade edge exposure



J y 1965 F. c. CLEMENSON 3 3,

SAFETY RAZOR HAVING ADJUSTABLE BLADE EDGE EXPOSURE Filed April 24, 19624 Sheets-Sheet 1 g n 5 7 5 3 g y l0 g/ S FIG. I FIG. 2

INVENTOR fi'ederl'ck (bar/es (lemma on WWJLZMM x @5 @Aaza fllfvrneysJuly 13, 1965 F. C- CLEMENSON SAFETY RAZOR HAVING ADJUSTABLE BLADE EDGEEXPOSURE Filed April 24, 1962 4 Shee ts-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Free/e rick(/mr/es f/emr/zson worn eys y 13, 1965 F. c. CLEMENSON 3,193,923

SAFETY RAZOR HAVING ADJUSTABLE BLADE EDGE EXPOSURE Filed April 24, 19624 Sheets-Sheet a FIG. 4

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INVENTOR. fi'eden'ckfharles (/ememon July 13, 1965 F. c. CLEMENSON 3, 93

SAFETY RAZOR HAVING ADJUSTABLE BLADE EDGE EXPOSURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Filed April 24, 1962 FIG 5 LNVEETOR. fiederick (/mr/es (/emenson BY'United States Patent C) M 3,193,923 SAFETY RAZOR HAVING ADJUSTABLE BLADEEDGE EXPGSURE Frederick Charles Clemenson, Ferring, England, assignor toThe Giilette Company, Boston, Mass a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr.24, 1962, Ser. No. 189,884 Claims priority, application Great Britain,Apr. 25, 1961, 14,899/ 61 4 Claims. ((11. 30-67) This invention relatesto safety razors, and provides a new or improved construction thereof,particularly well suited for manufacture in molded plastic instead ofmetal.

According to a feature of the invention, a safety razor comprises ablade platform member, a cap member adapted to clamp a razor bladeagainst the platform, a catch member urged by spring means to a firstposition in which the catch engages the cap to retain the cap inposition on the platform, the catch being movable against the action ofthe spring means into a second position in which it allows removal ofthe cap, a detent member which is urged by said spring means into aposition of engagement with the catch member to hold the member in itssecond position, the arrangement being such that the movement of the capinto its clamping position on the platform displaces the detent from itsposition of engagement, against the action of the said spring means,thereby permitting movement of the catch member into its first positionunder the action of the said spring means.

Two preferred forms of safety razor each embodying the invention, aredescribed below, by way of example only, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional side elevation of one razor, which is shown in anupright position with the cap uppermost,

FIG. 2 is a sectional plan taken in the line IIII of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a sectional front elevation taken along the line IIIIII ofFIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a part sectional side elevation of the second form of razor,and

FIG. 5 is a part sectional front elevation taken on the line V-V of FIG.4.

The razor shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 comprises a body portion 1 which isformed at its upper end with a blade guard 2. The body portion is hollowopen at the top and formed with slots 20 and 2011 through the side wallswhich communicate with the hollow interior. A pivot pin 21 is secured atits ends in the front and rear walls of the body portion. A platformmember 3 is slidably mounted Within the body portion for verticalmovement relative thereto. The platform member has a laterally extendingslot 5 open at both of its ends, and a vertical slot 6 whichcommunicates at its lower end with the slot 5. The upper end of slot 6is open at the blade support surface 31 of the platform member. Justbelow the slot 5 the platform member is divided into front and rearlimbs 17, 18 respectively, which are provided on their inner faces withflanges 23, 24, 25 and 26. Near the junction of the limbs and at oneside of the platform member there is a tongue 28 which engages in theslot 20 in the adjacent side wall of the body portion. This tongueserves to guide the sliding movement of the platform member relative tothe body portion. Elongated slots 17A, 18A are formed in the limbs 17,18 respectively to allow movement of the platform member relative to thepin 21.

The slot 5 houses a pair of catch members 8 and 9 disposed one adjacentthe forward vertical face of the slot and the other adjacent the rearvertical face. The catch members 8, 9 are formed at their inner endswith h oklike projections 10, 11 respectively which bridge the gapPatented July 13, 1965 between the two members (see FIG. 2), and whichare shaped to have upwardly and inwardly sloping surfaces 10A, 11Arespectively. The enlarged outer ends of the catch members projectbeyond the ends of the slot 5 and through the slots in the side walls ofbody portion 1. The catch members are biased apart by a compressionspring 12 working against faces 14 and 15 which are inclined to thevertical. A detent plate 16 is positioned between the catch members 8and 9 and overlies the spring 12.

A cap 4 is adapted to be detachably secured to the upper end of theplatform member and comprises a downwardly extending tongue 7 which isformed with notches whose lower edges 7A and 7B slope inwardly andupwardly as shown in FIG. 3.

A cam disc 19 is rotatably mounted on the pin 21 and lies between thelimbs 17, 18 of the platform member. The disc comprises an annularflange 22, whose centre of curvature is offset from the pivotal axis ofthe disc, and a generally sector shaped portion 27 which projectsoutwardly through the adjacent slot 20 in the body portion. The flatfaces of flange 22 are provided with a number of narrow recesses 29engageable by corresponding pips 30 on the inner faces of the limbs 17and 18, and the outer cylindrical surface of the flange 22 engages theflanges 23, 24, 25 and 26.

With the exception of the pin 21 and spring 12, all the component partsof the razor may conveniently be molded from makrolon or some otherplastic material.

The razor is illustrated with all its parts assembled together butwithout a blade in position.

To remove the cap 4 from the razor, the catch members are pressedinwardly by hand against the action of spring 12 so that the hooks 10and 11 are moved apart, releasing the tongue 7. When the spring iscompressed it tends to bow upwardly against the lower face of detentplate 16 and when the hooks 10 and 11 have moved sufliciently far apart,the plate is pushed up by the spring and comes to rest between the hooksto hold them apart. In its upward travel, the plate 16 forces the tongue7 partially out of the slot 5 and the cap can then be lifted clear ofthe platform member.

The tongue 7 can then be inserted in the slot in a doubleedged razorblade and the cap and blade placed in position on the razor. The tongueis inserted in the slot 6 in the platform member and the cap presseddownwardly. The tongue 7 forces the plate 16 down until that plateclears the hooks 10, 11, thus allowing the catch members to moveoutwardly, whereupon the hooks engage in the notches in tongue 7. Thewedging action exerted by faces 10A and 11A on the edges 7A, 7Brespectively ensures that the cap is held firmly in position in theplatform member so that the blade is clamped between the lower surfaceof the cap and the blade supporting surface 31.

The sharp edge-s of the blade overhang the guard 2 and the gaps Abetween these edges and the guard can be varied by adjusting theposition of the platform member, movement of this member being effectedby rotation of the disc 19.

If the disc is rotated in a clockwise direction from its position shownin FIG. 3, the platform member will be moved upwardly (due to theeccentric nature of flange 22), and the gap A will be increased.Conversely, rotation of the cam in the opposite sense will result in thegap A being reduced. The disc is preferably marked with numbers on itsouter periphery to give an indication of the adjustment of the positionof the platform. The recesses 2? and the cooperating pips serve toretain the disc in certain positions of angular adjustment.

In the second razor shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the upper part of the razor,including the cap retaining and releasing mechanism, is exactly the sameas that of the first described razor, but the lower part of the platformmember 3 extend downwardly as a single limb 40, formed with a projection41. An operating lever 42 is mounted inter mediate its ends on the pivotpin 21A and is formed at its upper end with a cam groove 43 in which theprojection4I engages; The lower end of'the lever projects through a slot44 in the bottom wall of the body portion 1 for manual adjustment ofthelever. 1

When the' lever is rotated about the pivot pin 21, intergagement in oneof the said notches, the said spring means action between the projection41 and the side faces'of the cam'groove 43 results in verticaladjustment of the platform member 3 relative to the guard 2 to vary thegap A.

Preferably,

ment of the platform, and cooperating recesses and projections on thebody portion and the lever serve lightly to 1. A safety razor comprisinga blade platform member,

.a cap member adapted to clamp a razor blade against the platform, acatch member .urged by spring means to a first position in which thecatch engages the capto retain the cap in position onthe platform, thecatch being movable against the action of the spring means into asecondposition in which it allows removal of the cap, a detent member which isurged ,by the said spring means into a numbers are placed on the bodyportion along theslot44 to give a visual' indication of theadjustposition of engagement with the catch member to hold a the memberin its second position, the arrangement being such thatthe movement ofthe cap-into its clamping position on the platform displaces the detentfrom its position '2. A razor in accordance with claim '1 which includesa urging the outer ends of the catchesroutwardlyaway from each-other,and thereby urging the said projections into engagement with thenotches. f i

3. A razor in accordance with claim 2, wherein the said spring meanscomprises a coil compression spring which is arranged to bucklewhen'compressed, and the said detent'member is disposed adjacent thespring intermediate the ends thereof, the detent being urged into its.said position of engagement by the'buckling of the spring. 4. A razorin accordance with claim 1, whereinthe said springs means comprises acoil compression spring which is arranged to buckle When'compressed, andthe said detent'member is disposed adjacent the-spring intermediate theends therof, the detent being urgedinto its said position of engagementby the buckling of the spring.

References Cited by theExaminer v V UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,699,603] 1/55 Payamps 30,-60.5 2,753,627 7/56 Isroff et al. 30, 60.5 X 2,762,1219/56 Isroif et al. 30-60.5 2,848,806 a 8/58 Shnitzier et al. 3060.52,934,821 5/60 Bailey etal 30-605 3,027,637 4/62 Seiler 30-605 FELDMAN,Primary Examiner. LEWIS J. LENNY, Examiner.

1. A SAFETY RAZOR COMPRISING A BLADE PLATFORM MEMBER, A CAP MEMBERADAPTED TO CLAMP A RAZOR BLADE AGAINST THE PLATFORM, A CATCH MEMBERURGED BY SPRING MEANS TO A FIRST POSITION IN WHICH THE CATCH ENGAGES THECAP TO RETAIN THE CAP IN POSITION ON THE PLATFORM, THE CATCH BEINGMOVABLE AGAINST THE ACTION OF THE SPRING MEANS INTO A SECOND POSITION INWHICH IT ALLOWS REMOVAL OF THE CAP, A DETENT MEMBER WHICH IS URGED BYTHE SAID SPRING MEANS INTO A